Depression VA Claim Grants
Real BVA decisions granting service connection for major depressive disorder.
Depression grants at the Board fall into two buckets: direct-service connection (in-service onset, often tied to a traumatic event) and secondary connection (depression caused or aggravated by a service-connected physical condition — chronic pain, sleep apnea, TBI). The secondary path is the most commonly overlooked.
Top 5 recent grants
Ranked by decision date. Each card shows verbatim Findings of Fact and Reasons & Bases pulled directly from the Board's published decision — no summarization, no AI rewording.
Findings of Fact (verbatim from decision)
The persuasive weight of the evidence indicates the Veteran's erectile dysfunction is secondary to his service-connected MDD.
Findings of Fact (verbatim from decision)
The evidence is in approximate balance as to whether the Veteran's PTSD with persistent depressive disorder and cannabis use disorder is manifested by total occupational and social impairment.
Findings of Fact (verbatim from decision)
1. The Veteran's acquired psychiatric conditions, to include PTSD, anxiety and depression, are related to military sexual trauma (MST) and other trauma experienced in service. 2. The Veteran's service-connected disabilities have prevented her from obtaining and maintaining employment consistent with her occupational and vocational experience throughout the period on appeal.
Reasons & Bases (verbatim from decision)
The Veteran served on active duty from March 1982 to March 2006. During the Veteran's service she received the following awards and badges: Air Force achievement medal with one oak leaf cluster, Air Force Commendation Medal, Armed Forced Expeditionary Medal, Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) Professional Military Education Ribbon with one oak leaf cluster; National Defense Service Medal with one bronze service star; Air Force Overseas Short Tour Ribbon, Air Force Training Ribbon, Air Force Longevity Service Award with four oak leaf clusters, Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with one oak leaf cluster; Korean Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster; Korean Defense Service Medal; Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with gold border; Combat Readiness Medal; Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valor with six oak left clusters; Air Force Good conduct medal with six oak leaf clusters; and Senior Command and Control Badge. " See July 2015 VA form 21-526b. In determining the scope of a claim, the Board must consider the Veteran's description of the claim, symptoms described, and the information submitted or developed in support of the claim. Clemons v. Shinseki, 23 Vet. App. 1 (2009).…
Findings of Fact (verbatim from decision)
1. The Veteran's depressive disorder was etiologically related to service. 2. Throughout the period on appeal, the Veteran was precluded from obtaining or maintaining substantially gainful employment due to service connected disability.
Reasons & Bases (verbatim from decision)
The Veteran served on active duty from November 1970 to August 1974. He appealed a September 2016 rating decision denying entitlement to service connection for a mental health condition. Also on appeal is the issue of entitlement to a TDIU stemming from a May 16, 2016, claim seeking entitlement to an increased rating for a low back condition. Veteran passed away in November 2020. The appellant is his surviving spouse. The Board also notes that the appellant's attorney submitted a motion for extension on December 27, 2023, in order to review the most recent evidence related to this appeal. However, as this decision is a full grant of the benefits sought, the Board will presume there is no additional need for the requested extension. Service Connection Under the relevant laws and regulations, service connection may be granted for a disability resulting from disease or injury incurred in or aggravated by active service. 38 U.S.C. §§ 1110, 1131; 5107(b); Holton v. Shinseki, 557 F.3d 1363, 1366 (Fed. Cir. 2009); 38 C.F.R. §§ 3.303(a), 3.304, 3.307, 3.309, 3.310. Generally, the evidence must show: (1) the existence of a present disability; (2) in-service incurrence or aggravation of a disease or injury; and (3) a causal relationship between the present disability and the disease or injury incurred or aggravated during service. Shedden v. Principi, 381 F.3d 1163, 11…
Findings of Fact (verbatim from decision)
Competent (medical) evidence reasonably supports that the Veteran's major depressive disorder is, at least in part, related to her service-connected cervical spine disability.
Get a filed-ready brief on your specific facts — $99
The decisions above are the most recent grants — they may not match your specific nexus theory or fact pattern. The NexusVetClaims Precedent Brief runs a semantic search on your exact situation and returns 10 decisions (8 closest analogous matches + 2 instructive contrasts) as a filed-ready PDF with suggested citations and placement guidance for every VA form.
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How to use these decisions in your claim
- ›A chronic service-connected pain condition almost always supports a secondary depression claim — cite Mauerhan v. Principi and 38 CFR § 3.310.
- ›Sleep apnea + depression is a well-recognized secondary pathway — sleep fragmentation drives mood dysregulation.
- ›Medical literature is your friend here — cite peer-reviewed studies showing the physiological link.
- ›BVA decisions are non-precedential under 38 CFR § 20.1303 but the Board and rating officials regularly find recent analogous decisions persuasive — especially when your facts materially match.
- ›Paste the suggested-citation line into VA Form 21-4138 (Statement in Support of Claim), then attach the full decision PDF as an exhibit.
Also helpful for Depression claims
- Precedent Finder — search all Board decisions for your exact fact pattern (free).
- Nexus Letter Drafter — doctor-ready nexus letter template for Depression.
- Depression rating guide — 2026 compensation tables + rating criteria under 38 CFR.
- C&P Exam Prep — the DBQ questions and how to answer them.
More BVA grant guides
BVA decisions are public-record Department of Veterans Affairs rulings. Under 38 CFR § 20.1303 they are non-precedential but may be cited as persuasive evidence of how the Board has treated similar facts. NexusVetClaims provides software, not legal representation. This page shows retrieval output from the nexusvetclaims.com BVA corpus and is updated as new decisions are indexed.